Kirchwasser (Kirschwasser, from German Kirsche “cherry” and Wasser “water”, literally – “cherry water”) is a strong alcoholic drink that is made from black sweet cherries.
In more understandable words, it is cherry (cherry) brandy, but many call it vodka, moonshine or tincture.
Kirschwasser simple recipe
Ingredients
Black cherry – 900 g
Vodka – 375 ml
Water – 300 ml
Granulated sugar – 450 g
Method of preparation
Cherries must be washed, dried and small cuts made with a knife or pierced with a toothpick in 3-5 places.
Transfer the prepared berries to a saucepan, add water and sugar.
On low heat, bring the mixture to a boil and then boil for another 5-6 minutes (until the sugar is completely dissolved).
As soon as the cherry syrup has cooled to room temperature, it must be mixed with vodka and poured into a glass container.
Then we insist the drink for 1 month in a dark place.
After the specified time, the Kirschwasser must be filtered and then filtered.
Pour the finished drink into a glass bottle of a suitable volume and you can start tasting, only after cooling the cherry vodka.
Kirschwasser original recipe
Ingredients
Cherry black – 8 kg
Water – 10 L
Granulated sugar – 2 kg
Yeast – 48 g dry or 240 g pressed
Method of preparation
Cherries need to be kneaded a little with your hands or do it with a wooden spatula.
Then pour in water, add white sugar and yeast, mix thoroughly and install a water seal.
Every day you need to knock off a hat from the pulp, and mix the must well to enrich it with oxygen. This stage takes from 7 to 10 days.
As soon as fermentation is over, the wort is sent for distillation.
We do the first stage by ferry, without adding to dryness. The resulting raw alcohol is diluted to 18–20 degrees and again placed in a cube.
During the second distillation, heads and tails should be separated. The body of moonshine from cherries is selected at a strength of 51–56 degrees. We select the main fraction up to 40-41 degrees.
From 8 kg of berries you will get about 500 ml of distillate, with a strength of 53-56 degrees.
The resulting Kirschwasser is quite sharp and does not have a pronounced cherry aroma, but it has almond notes and even a woody aftertaste. You can also do the following with the finished drink:
Aged in bottles with corks for 2-3 months.
Aged for 2-3 months in an oak barrel or on oak chips.
Add some fructose to soften the cherry moonshine.
The shelf life of the drink does not exceed 2,5-3 years, store in the basement or refrigerator. It is recommended to serve the drink only chilled to the table.
Relevance: 27.12.2017
Tags: brandy and cognac